It has been said, “When the time for decision arrives, the time for preparation is past.” Within our IT Service and Support business, we always want to be ready to exceed expectations when called upon; let’s dive into the key components necessary to excel.
- When an opportunity comes along, you need to be ready for it.
- Define the opportunities you want to have made available.
- Focus on developing the team competency needed, to take advantage of those opportunities.
- Understand the outcomes you experience, are the combination of having had an opportunity and your team having the competency to capitalize on them.
The Full Scoop
How does your company define IT Service and Support success, and how can you create the opportunities you need to be even more successful? How can you do it over and over again? Ernest Hemingway once stated, “You Make Your Own Luck”; and if that is really the case, I’d like to have some of it more please!!
In reality, for a variety of reasons, there can be limits to the luck your business can self-generate on its own at any given time. For us, the takeaway has always been; within the realm of our control, how can we make the fullest of the opportunities that will be in our path. How can we continuously grow the pool of opportunities we will have.
Years ago we had the good fortune to begin providing IT Support and Services to a large client. It was a great opportunity that we were very pleased to have; was it luck or did we do something to help make it come together? Can we systematize these events, so that they happen on a more predicable basis? These are questions we ask ourselves regularly!
Looking back, there were a series of events and crossroads that lead us to meeting this particular client, and then having the opportunity to offer IT Services to them. A little luck, that we worked hard to hold onto, followed by a little more luck, that we worked hard to hold onto, etc. It was not one thing we did, not one approach, not one marketing strategy, or one skill set we had; it was a collective group of positive efforts, events, and small successes; that led to being able to have such great luck.
Luck and timing does play a role in the success of any business. Recent pandemic world events are going to cause great challenges for some businesses, and new opportunities for others. Our IT Helpdesk has been active in helping customers adjust to this new norm. Working remotely from home will create new opportunities for businesses and service providers; but will also create challenges for other existing businesses depending on their model. Are you adjusting to the new norm? Rather than focus on the challenges, how can you find new opportunities given current market forces? How can you make those successes, and your luck, repeatable?
Within our Managed Services offerings, we are regularly discussing how we can blend the competency of our team with existing opportunities in the marketplace. What determines whether the outcome will be positive or negative, depends deeply on the opportunities we are discovering, plus the competency of our team, to capitalize on those opportunities; in a way that leads to a positive outcome for our firm. Finding an opportunity is great, are you ready for it? Once you have an opportunity available, have you prepared yourself and your team to be successful?
When the time for action is at hand, the time to prepare will have passed. Especially in IT Service and Support, if a client is not prepared for a cyber security event (for example); working after the fact to reverse it’s effects can be a real challenge.
Be active in looking for new opportunities, while also preparing your team to be successful. The positive combination of the two will be what determines the outcomes you experience. Don’t rely on luck alone, go out and try make some of your own. As you have one small success, hold tight onto it, and actively search for the next; persistence is a key ingredient in the success of any business, be consistent and relentless in your pursuit of your success.